Previous vehicle we shared (Zargrav X-72, Zaspa T-68 Skyhopper, Cyberpuma, and Hypercycle) were not combat vehicles. Today that changes. This military walker is created by the Confederation of Worlds (Die Weltbund). Warpride and other Confederation worlds use this defensive walker to repel invaders. They travel so slow that they need airlifted to the region they are needed. Once there, they can take serious punishment from its opposition and deal incredible damage to everything in their path.

The Defense Walker is produced by the Confederation of Worlds. Warpride is in the CoW and is one of the detailed worlds in Foreven Worlds: Alespron Subsector. Download this subsector at JonBrazer.com. You can also find it at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.

For this week’s vehicle, I bring you the Cornathian Hypercycle. Unlike previous vehicles we showed off here at JonBrazer.com (Zargrav X-72, Zaspa T-68 Skyhopper, and Cyberpuma) this isn’t a conversion from MGT 1e to 2e. This is a new vehicle we created specifically for this edition of the game.

The Hypercycle is a wheeled motorcycle for adrenaline junkies. It has the agility to weave through traffic and the raw speed to bypass everything on the road when they have the space. Not only that, it is about a third of the cost of the Imperium’s g/bike. This is a great common man’s on the border worlds.

Hypercycle

TL

10

Skill

Drive (wheel)

Agility

+2

Speed (Cruise)

Fast (High)

Range (Cruise)

500 (750)

Crew

1

Passengers

1

Cargo

—

Hull

4

Shipping

1 tons

Cost

Cr. 17,000

Armour

Front

3

Rear

3

Sides

3

Details

Autopilot (skill level)

+0

Communications (range)

—

Navigation (Navigation DM)

+1

Sensors (Electronics [Sensors] DM)

+0, 1 km

Camouflage (Recon DM)

—

Stealth (Electronics [sensors] DM)

—

Traits/Equipment

The Hypercycle is produced by in the Cornathian Empire. Find details about the Cornathian Empire in Foreven Worlds: Fessor Subsector. Download this at JonBrazer.com. You can also find it at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.

Continuing our series of converting converting our 1st edition Mongoose Traveller vehicles to 2nd edition, we bring you the Zargrav X-72. Previously, we shared the Cyberpuma and the Zaspa T-68 Skyhopper.

Barely legal outside of racing arenas, the Zargrav X-72 boasts a top speed that is downright illegal on some worlds. It comes equipped with a high end entertainment system to keep you entertained and informed during a long flight. This is the vehicle for the grav driver that just LOVES to zip through sky traffic. It is a vehicle of precision and possesses an agility that is unmatched in its tech level. When you want to bob, weave, duck under or corkscrew around everyone else in the skyways, this is your gravcar.

We’re doing a series right now of converting some of our vehicles from 1st edition Mongoose Traveller to 2nd edition. Last week, we looked at the Cyberpuma. Today we take a look at the Zaspa T-68 Skyhopper

Ideal for lower tech worlds, the T-68 Skyhopper features two main rotorblades to maximize stability and minimize the safe takeoff distance. The third rotorblade controls the vehicle’s pitch, and ultimately its forward speed. With more than a ton of cargo space, the skyhopper delivers the performance needed on a lightly-populated colony world at a price those same worlds can afford.

Today sees the start of a new series. We are updating the vehicles we created for 1e Mongoose Traveller to the Second Edition. These are here for your use in your games and we hope you enjoy them.

Today we are starting with the Cyberpuma from the Massinagrav corporation. Compared to today cars, this would be a sports car. Sure, it fits four people, but those in the back are going to be a bit squished. That, however is well worth the acceleration and agility on this thing. Massinagrav, as you may guess is firmly in Zhodani space. Yet the corporation is owned by a Solomani. The planet was incorporated into the Consulate generations ago and the people there are full Zhodani citizens, even if they are not Zhodani by heritage.

For over a year now, I’ve had a nagging thought: Vehicles in Pathfinder should have levels. I mean Pathfinder is a game where everything has a level to it (or some level-derived scaling to it): characters, NPCs, monsters, spells, encounters, mass combat units, magic items, gold, expected damage per round, hit points, saving throws, DCs. And vehicles have none of that?!? Not only that, they do not have an XP value. So according to the rules of the game, So according to the rules of the game, facing a bad guy is just as difficult as facing that same bad guy in a mech. Does that make sense to anyone?

Don’t get me wrong, I love vehicles. Adding a vehicle can really make an encounter epic and memorable. Take kobolds for example, what are you likely to remember more: fighting a half dozen kobold or fighting a only 3 kobolds, but they are each driving a giant stone-worked dragon-looking cart that breaths fire? I’d hazard a guess that the latter is far more memorable.

The rules as written now have no scaling to them at all, outside of cost. Unfortunately, cost is not a good means of scaling. Compare this for a moment: By the time you are level 5, a group of adventurers can cut their way through a small army of hobgoblins. When they are done, they have a small fortune in mundane arms and armor that they can take to the closest city and cash in. But this is balanced against the weight of the arms and armor. The slower traveling speed and the inability for certain characters such as monks and rogues to not use all their abilities when weighed down means it is much easier for most groups to just leave the weapons and armor on the battlefield and forget them. Now compare that to the vehicle that the hobgoblins came in on. If that small army attacked from several keelboats (using Ultimate Combat stats), not only can they take vehicle and pilot themselves (with potentially a penalty if they do not have the requisite 8 person crew) to a port, but they can also carry all those arms and armor they could not before, allowing them to get even richer. And if they decide to sell it, they have a whopping amount of money to buy other items that the level scaling system says they should not otherwise have. The other options is to take the vehicle’s cost into the expected treasure value of the encounter, meaning the bad guys have less equipment with which to attack the PCs, meaning they deal less damage to the adventurers. See the problem here. It is a catch-22.

Now if vehicles had levels to them, a GM would have a guideline as to what kind of vehicle to send the bad guys in with. A GM can decide see that a glider, being a level 1 vehicle should be used by the army of goblins instead of an alchemical dragon.

So far, I really have made nothing more than a few minor reasons why a level system is required for vehicles. That was all set up for this: the GP value does not really mesh well with a vehicle’s abilities and difficulty to handle. For example, a 13,000 gp keelboat has 600 hp and requires a crew of 8. Compare that to a 10,000 gp sailing ship (again, both of these use Ultimate Combat stats), which is 50% larger, requires a crew of 20 and has 900 hp. Higher hit points are associated with a higher level. So is larger size and a larger number of followers (if you have the Leadership feat). All of which indicate that the sailing ship is a higher level vehicle. So why does it cost less? Like equipment and magic items, gold piece value is the scaling factor here. Unfortunately, the base rules do not work the way it should.

Then case of wagons. There is never a reason for players to buy a light or medium wagon. The light wagon cost 50 gp, can carry up to 1,000 lbs, has 60 hp, and requires a horse to pull it. The heavy wagon, by contrast cost 100 gp, can carry up to 4,000 lbs, 120 hp and, and requires the same horse to pull it as the light wagon as well as the same Drive check. Under a level system: everything would change. The heavy wagon would require 4 horses to pull it, meaning the DC for the Drive check would increase, but so would the amount of cargo that can be hauled. The amount of cargo the vehicle can carry is level dependent. With a level system, you can definitely say that a wagon can carry this much cargo at this level. Next the ramming damage should be changed. The ramming damage under a level system would change based on the level of the vehicle, not on its size. Sure, size should be a factor, but it should be the constant added onto the die roll, not the die roll itself. If it were a creature, its size should be the Strength modifier while the level determines the number of dice to roll for damage. On and on, all the vehicles should have level-based components to them.

Tell me what you think. Do you feel that vehicles should have a level?

The people of the Foreven Sector have their own collection of vehicles that they use to travel the worlds. With little infrastructure, the people here must rely on the few worlds that are built up enough to produce such machines, even if they are their enemies. Whether you are building a colony, arming a police force, or starting a war, the vehicle you need lies within.

Foreven Worlds: Vehicles of the Frontier is a 20 page supplement for Traveller. Inside you will find:

3 Civilian Battledresses and 4 Military Battledresses,

7 Civilian Vehicles,

2 Cargo Vehicles,

3 Police Vehicles,

4 Military Vehicles, and

descriptions of how each fits into the Foreven Sector and in your game.

We are currently putting the final touches on Foreven Worlds: Vehicles of the Frontier and we thought we would share a pair of the final pages here. First up, we have the Cyberpuma, an extremely fast sports car for the wealthier individuals in the Foreven Sector. You will note it has an Optional Equipment package so you you can upgrade your vehicle for a small fee. The other vehicle here is a Zhodani grav tank that is no longer in production, but is sold to many of the Consulate’s allies throughout the sector. Click on the images below to see them upclose.

These vehicles are designed for the Foreven Worlds setting but they work just as well anywhere else in the Official Traveller Universe or any other setting you desire. Their descriptions include minor references to Foreven Worlds, making it easy for you to integrate the vehicles into any setting you desire.

Its official. Mongoose Publishing released the Vehicles Handbook as part of their SRD. I have been working on a vehicles book ever since I finished converting the book to an SRD.

Soon now we will be releasing Foreven Worlds: Vehicles of the Frontier. But for right now, let me just share with you the names of the vehicles done so far (we still might add a few yet). Here’s what you can expect:

From the ultimate high ground for a squad of archers to a land barge that can quickly move a catapult across a battlefield, vehicles of all shapes and sizes are essential components of warfare. Now you can bring the awesome power of siege engines and transports to your game with these 20 new vehicles in Book of Multifarious Munitions: Vehicles of War. Whether you want a lone rider on a demon horse, a small adventuring party armed with a mobile barricade, or a large crew manning a sky dreadnaught, these vehicles will make your battles and your game epic.

This 12 page PDF details 20 new awesome vehicles for your Pathfinder game. Download Book of Multifarious Munitions: Vehicles of War today at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, Paizo.com and d20PFSRD today.